SOFT Innovation prize for Alexander Feichtmayer

The second place in this year's SOFT Innovation prize awarded by the European Commission went to Alexander Feichtmayer for his work on the “General-Purpose Irradiated Fiber and Foil Experiment” (GIRAFFE).

This device was constructed for investigating synergistic effects of various simultaneous fusion-relevant loads such as irradiation damage caused by high-energy ions, the simulation of the fusion plasma ions as well as thermomechanical loads. It provides a novel approach to the development and qualification of new materials. Additional detectors for in-situ ion beam analysis and a dedicated beam line, currently under construction at IPP’s accelerator laboratory, will increase the experimental capabilities and the availability of the experiment.

In collaboration with the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy a first publication entitled “Fast low-temperature irradiation creep driven by athermal defect dynamics” was published in Communications Materials.

Link to open access article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43246-024-00655-5